Rhythm Thief (Matthew Harrison)

Rating: 1.0

Were the folks on the Sundance jury this year on drugs, or what?  They 
awarded the grand prize to the lackluster BROTHERS MCMULLEN, and the jury 
prize went to this hideously stilted, self-consciously arty low-budget 
loser.  I wanted to smack each and every one of the actors upside the 
head, though it's hard to say which irritated me more: the shameless 
mugging of those playing the supporting roles, or the complete absence of 
expression or emotion evinced by our protagonist (oops, I'm forgetting 
his permanent scowl).  After five minutes, I knew exactly where RHYTHM 
THIEF was going: in a long, self-indulgent, tediously mannered circle.  
That it's received glowing notices indicates only that many critics will 
praise almost any feature that they know was shot on a shoestring.